March 29, 2024 • Galatians 3:13, Isaiah 43:25, 1 Peter 2:24, Hebrews 10:1–10, Matthew 27:51
Good Friday 2024
Isaiah 53:4-6 (NKJV)
Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
Galatians 3:13 (ESV)
“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’”
Isaiah 43:25 (NIV)
"I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.
1 Peter 2:24 (NIV)
“’He himself bore our sins’ in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live to righteousness;”
Matthew 27:51 (NIV)
“At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.”
Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV)
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Hebrews 10:19-22 (ESV)
“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."
Hebrews 10:1-10 (NLT)
“The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared. But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God,
‘You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given me a body to offer.
You were not pleased with burnt offerings or other offerings for sin.
Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God— as is written about me in the Scriptures.’
First, Christ said, ‘You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them’ (though they are required by the law of Moses). Then he said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will.’ He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.”
Palm Sunday // Dreams are Possible
March 24, 2024 • Proverbs 29:18, Romans 12:1–2, Proverbs 22:24–25, Romans 8:11, John 10:10
It’s Time to Dream Again
Romans 8:11 (NLT)
“The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you.”
Revelation 1:18 (NKJV)
“I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.”
John 10:10 (ESV)
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
Proverbs 29:18 (ESV)
“Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint”
What does God’s dream look like for you?
Ephesians 3:20 (ESV)
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us”
How to live out God’s dream for my life.
1. Surrender your whole life to God.
Romans 12:1-2 (ESV)
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
2. Get alone with God.
Isaiah 55:3 (ESV)
“Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live;”
3. Get around Godly Dreamers.
Proverbs 27:17 (NIV)
“As iron sharpens iron,
so one person sharpens another.”
Proverbs 22:24-25 (NLT)
“Don’t befriend angry people
or associate with hot-tempered people,
or you will learn to be like them
and endanger your soul.”
4. Take steps towards God’s dream for your life.
Psalms 37:23 (NLT)
“The LORD directs the steps of the godly.”
Nothing is Impossible // Joy is Possible
March 17, 2024 • Matthew 5:23–24, John 15:5, Lamentations 3:40, James 4:17, Psalm 51:12
March 17, 2024 // Pastor Jason King
Joy is Possible
Revelation 1:18 (NKJV)
“I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.”
Romans 14:17 (NLT)
“For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
Lamentations 5:15 (ESV)
“The joy of our hearts has ceased;”
How To Receive the Fullness of Christ’s Joy Again.
1. Acknowledge my joy is missing or not what it used to be.
Psalms 51:12 (ESV)
“Restore to me the joy of your salvation,”
2. Examine the cause of my lack of joy.
-Imbalanced schedule
-Unused talent or gifting
-Unresolved conflict
Romans 12:18 (NIV)
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
Matthew 5:9 (NIV)
“Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.”
Matthew 5:23-24 (ESV)
“if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”
-Undernourished spirit
John 15:5 (ESV)
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
Isaiah 40:31 (ESV)
"they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.”
-Unrepented sin
Lamentations 3:40 (NIV)
“Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.”
3. Choose obedience to God’s Word.
James 4:17 (NLT)
“it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.”
John 15:10-11 (NIV)
“If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”
4. Remember the joy you seek is only possible through Christ.
Romans 6:4 (NIV)
“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”
Psalms 126:3 (NIV)
“The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.”
Nothing is Impossible: Hope
Nothing is Impossible
Hope
Romans 8:11 (ESV)
“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. “
Revelation 1:17b-18 (ESV)
“…Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.”
Hope is possible.
Joy is possible.
Peace is possible.
Hope
Greek = “Elpis”
“Joyful and Confident Expectation”
Christian Hope is Unique.
“Our present behavior is determined by what we believe our ultimate future to be.” - Timothy Keller
The Christian’s Hope is Anchored in Certainty About God’s Future and Character, demonstrated in Christ’s Work and Affirmed Everyday by the Holy Spirit.
How Do We Get This Hope?
Romans 5:1-5 (ESV)
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Invitation > Endurance > Character > Hope
Romans 15:4 (ESV)
“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
Romans 15:13 (ESV)
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
Hebrews 6:17-20 (NLT)
“God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.”
Nothing is Impossible // Nothing is Impossible, Literally
March 3, 2024 • Mark Davies • Romans 8:1–11
Nothing is Impossible: Literally
Romans 8:1-11 (ESV) “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”
The Holy Spirit makes impossible things possible. (And we have unlimited access to Him.)
“Essentially, Christianity is not you leading a righteous life and offering to God. It’s God’s son leading a righteous life and offering it to you.” - Timothy Keller
What impossible situation do you need to make possible?